Hello stampers! Have you noticed that there is a LOT of amazing paper in the holiday catalog? Maybe you missed the paper that is included in the Most Wonderful Time product medley. I thought I would showcase it by making a 6×6 easel card. Let’s take a look at it right away before I tell you some more stories.

The Easel Card

I thought I would include a close up of the presents in the bottom right hand corner. Did you know that when you make an easel card you need to have something dimensional to hold the popped up part in place? That is the purpose of the presents and the stars. Of course they had to look good too! I think I managed to combine function and style quite nicely. Some of the presents were stamped and cut using the framelit in the medley and some were cut from patterned paper. The one with the tinsel tied around it was inspired by a scrap laying on my stamp table. I thought, why not layer it on real red and turn it into a big present? Gold stars are also included in the medley.

Did I mention that there is a stamp in this product medley that stamps is a two-step DistINKtive stamp that is an image of three presents? There is a coordinating die that cuts all three presents out at once so you have three separate presents. I like to stamp them multiple times in different colour combinations so that when I create my scene I have different looking presents to choose from.

I will be offering a free class for everyone who orders the Most Wonderful Time product medley. The class will be held on Wednesday October 30 at 1pm and 7pm and we will make 6 amazing cards including this easel card.

The Measurements

I haven’t made an easel card in a while but it is one of the simpler folds to create and it is especially nice when you want to make a bigger card for a special occasion.

Card base:  5 1/2″ by 11″ scored at 2 3/4″ and 5 1/2″

The fold: fold the 2 3/4″ part up into a mountain fold. Make the fold sharp by using a bone folder.

Real red: 5 3/8″ square

Patterned paper:  5 1/4″ square.

Adhere this square to the bottom part of the mountain fold. I found it easier to put the liquid glue right on the white cardstock and then lay the patterned square in place.  Tie a piece of cherry cobbler 3/8″ diagonally striped ribbon around this panel. Cut a vellum circle using a circle framelit. I had none of these with me in Holland so I traced a disposable coffee cup and hand cut it! Hand cut circles are never flawless so I disguised this by putting sparkling crystal effects around the edge and then sprinkling on ice stampin’ glitter on it.

I put some candy cane die cuts on this circle and a banner die cut stamped with “Hope You Have a Wonderful Christmas” on it. The banner was popped up. Some mini dimensionals were strategically placed on the back of the vellum circle where there was die cuts. That way you can’s see the dimensionals through the vellum; that would really ruin the look!

Remember that 3/4″ strip that I had to cut off to make my patterned paper 5 1/4″ square? Well, when you turn it around you get this delightful striped pattern. I adhered that to the base of the card for a nice contrast. Then I made a collage of presents with some of them popped up and a few gold stars and there you have it! It really is a very simple card to make but it definitely has a wow factor. I will be showing you how to make this card during my Facebook live video tomorrow at 9am EST or at 3pm European summer time.

If all you are interested in is the card, you can skip to the last paragraph. Otherwise read on for an interesting story about my family here in Holland.

A Story from the Weekend

On Saturday night we had dinner with two of my cousins and their partners. One of these cousins was Corrina, the first one I ever met and became friends with when I came to Holland. Her mom, my Tante Nel, is my mom’s younger sister by 14 years! I first set foot in Holland when I was a year old. My mom was returning to her family for the first time since she immigrated. She had to wait ten years before that was possible! I can’t imagine how difficult that must have been. No wonder there were so many letters written over the years.

The next time I went to Holland was when I was 14. That is when I met Corrina. I thought she was so lucky to have such a young cool mom who listened to Abba. My Mom didn’t even know about Abba! I think I may have met Macheld that year as well but only for a brief introduction. She owned a croissanterie in s’-Gravenzande which is also Gerard’s hometown. You can see how my world and his world intersected.

My other cousin Machteld is a daughter of my mom’s sister Adrie who died from cancer at the age of 42. She was not only mom’s sister but also her best friend. They were only a year apart in age. That is why it was so special to have this dinner and reconnect with the one cousin and get to know the other one. Wow, did we laugh a lot! We discovered that we have a lot in common. We love to cook and bake and eat. We order food the same way (two appetizers instead of a main) and we ordered the same dessert, and yes, we both feel that dessert is the proper way to end a special meal. We all love wine and we all have a very special man in our lives. I thought I would share these pictures with you too!

De Jutte was the name of the restaurant which means The Beachcomber. The view was incredible of the waterway that is part of the Maas River and the canal system from Rotterdam so every once in a while we would see a big ship going by and even the ferry going to England! It was so very special to spend time with my cousins and with the people we love. We all agreed there would be more evenings like this one. Unexpected blessings from being in the old country! I guess I just thought it would be so meaningful for my 86 year old mother to know that the daughter of her closest sister would become close friends with her own daughter even though she immigrated 61 years ago!

Thank You

As always I want to thank you so much for joining me here on my blog, I do so appreciate each and every one of you and I love it when you share your stories with me too. Be sure to take another look at page 39 of the holiday catalog and imagine a fun time with your friends creating beautiful Christmas cards that will surprise and delight your family, friends and neighbours. Take some time to slow down and do something meaningful together. Turn on some lovely Christmas music, pour a little wine and get creative. If you need help you know where to find me, there is nothing I would love more.

If you want to shop with me and you live in Canada, it is super easy. Just click on the images below and you will land in my online store. Just create an account and start ordering. Please do use the current host code as that really helps me out a lot. You can find that code in the column on the right hand side of the blog. Happy stamping and have a super day.

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